معرفی
Professor Laura E. Little serves as the James G. Schmidt Chair in Law at Temple University Beasley School of Law. She specializes in federal courts, conflict of laws, and constitutional law, with a distinctive focus on the intersection of law and humor. Professor Little teaches, lectures, and consults internationally, frequently training judges and speaking at judicial conferences worldwide.
Education:
- J.D. (summa cum laude), Temple University Beasley School of Law
- B.A. (magna cum laude), University of Pennsylvania
Professor Little's research bridges constitutional law with social science and humanities perspectives, creating a unique scholarly niche examining legal regulation of comedy across different contexts. Her work spans civil procedure, federal courts, conflict of laws, and First Amendment jurisprudence, with increasing attention to comparative and international dimensions of free speech protections for humor.
Her recent publications reveal a consistent scholarly evolution toward more sophisticated comparative analyses of how different legal systems handle the tension between free expression and regulation of comedy. She has particularly examined U.S. First Amendment jurisprudence alongside European human rights frameworks, illuminating cultural differences in humor regulation.
Awards and Recognition:
- Temple University Great Teacher Award (2004)
- Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching (2000)
- Multiple George P. Williams, III, Memorial Awards (1993, 1997, 2001)
- Temple Law Review Alumni Award of Merit (2015)
- Friel-Scanlan Award for Outstanding Scholarship (1995)
As Associate Reporter for the American Law Institute's Restatement (Third) of Conflict of Laws since 2014, Professor Little has significantly shaped her field. Her international engagement includes teaching in Temple's programs in Tokyo and Rome, extensive lecturing throughout China, and visiting professorships at the University of Sydney and University College of Cork.
Professor Little leads the Forum for Humor and the Law (ForHum), which serves as an interdisciplinary hub examining the complex relationship between legal systems and comedy across cultural contexts, regularly publishing blog analyses of current legal issues related to humor.
